Improvement in self-loading fire-arm



A. BALL.

Magazine Fire-arm.

Patented June 23, 1863.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT BALL, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-LOADING FIRE-ARM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,935, dated June 23,1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT BALL, of the city and county of Worcester,State of Mas sachusctts, have invented a new Repeating Breech-LoadingFireArm; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the construction and operation of the same, duereference being had to the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 isa side view with the working parts in position for discharging thepiece, or when discharged. Fig. 2 is a transverse section. Fig. 3 is aview of the under side of a portion of the magazine-case. Fig.4 is aside view in section with the working parts in position as receiving afresh charge after being discharged. Fig. 5 is a side view of themovable side plate upon the breech-pin, covering, when in position, theworking parts of the piece and lock-work, by which- B represents thebarrel; WV, the magazine for holding the given amount of fixedammunition; 0, the cartridges; 0, the charging-carriage; R, the lever bywhich the charging-carriage is operated; P, the locking-piece of thecharging-carriage, with its flange or projection 41 resting upon thetumbler I; g, the spring to lift P into its proper position at theproper time; H, the hammer; I, tlietumbler; c, the lever-key by whichthe charging-carriage is unlocked after being discharged; f, the springattached to the lever-key to insure its proper and firm insertion on thepiece P; x, the movable side plate, and z the screws by which the sideplate is firmly secured and held in its proper position; S, a spiralspring in the magazine-case for moving forward the ammunition; T, theplunger which transmits the action of the spring S to and upon theammunition; N, the knob by which the plunger is forced backward, andthus placing both itself and the spring in position for loading the magazine; D, the spring by which the cases are thrown from the arm after ithas been discharged; J, the spring or guard by which the cartridge iskept in its proper position on the charging-carriage a portion of thetime while being carried from the magazine-case to the barrel.

The construction and operation of the arm are as follows: The barrel,Figs. 1, 2, 4, is made in the usual manner, and is screwed into thebreech-pin 1), Figs. 1 and 4, in the usual manner, as shown at Fig. 4.The breech-pin 1), Figs. 1 and 4, is forged of wrought-iron, or cast ofmalleable iron or other suitable metal, and giggecl and slabbed in (toadapt it to the desired peculiar construction of my piece) in the usualmanner. The charging-carriage O, the locking-piece P, the key 0, withthe springs f and g, and the tumbler I and the hammer H, Figs. 1 and 4,are each made in the usual manner, and by the usual processes used inconstructing gun-work. V

Operation: In loading the magazine-case preparatory to action or use,the spiral spring S, Figs. 3 and 4, is drawn back by the knob N, andheld back by the notch in the side of the slot K, Fig. 3. WVith theplunger T held in this position, the cartridges are inserted into thechamber of the magazine, over the charging-carriage 0, when depressed bythe lever R, as shown in Fig. 4, the side plate, Fig.

5, being made with a depression at A, for the.

purpose of ease of loading the piece, as well as for another object, tobe hereafter explained. The chamber having been loaded with therequisite number of charges, the knob N, Fig. 3, is turned out of thenotch in the side of the slot K in the case, and the force of the springS brought to act upon the charges, through the plunger T, so as to forcethe charges back into the'charging-carriage O, as shown in Fig.4. Byelevating the lever R, Fig. 4, the charging-carriage O, with its charge,is elevated and carried forward as it rises until it reaches itsultimate position, as shown by 0, Fig. 1, the charging-carriage Oforming a part of the bore of the barrel, as shown at 0, Fig. 2, thecase of the cartridge 0, Fig. 1, being pushed forward into the barrelsufficiently far beyond the end of the chargingcarriage O to effectuallyclose the joint between the barrel and the end of the carriage. Duringthe passage of the charging-carriage 0 from its position as seen atO,Fig. 4,to that shown in Fig. 1, the other end of the carriage haspassed forward off of the upper end of the key 0, and slid along theupper surface of the locking-piece P until the moment of reaching itsfinal position, as in 'Fig. 1, at which moment the spring 9, acting uponthe piece P, throws it upward and locks the charging-carriage, as shownin Fig. 1, thus forming the breech-pin to resist the recoil of thecharge when fired. -During the transition of the charging-carriage 0from its position as shown in Fig. 4 to that in Fig. 1 the hammer Hremains stationary and elevated,as at H in Fig. 4, and in position readyto discharge the arm. During this operation, and previous to dischargingthe arm, the upper end of the key 0 remains still in the key-hole madethrough the locking-piece P, Fig. 4. Further, this operation of changingthe charging-carriage 0 from its position as shown in Fig. 4 to that inFig.

1 has placed P in such position that the hammer H may now be thrown downby the mainspring of the piece, (which is not shown, but

is made attached to the tumbler I, and used in the common form and usualmanner,) it being impossible to discharge the piece until the piece P,Fig. 1, has reached the position here shown. Further, also, during thetransition of the charging-carriage 0 from the position as seen in Fig.4, when it receives the charge, to that shown in Fig.1, soon after thecarriage has commenced its elevation, the spring J, Figs. 1 and 4, atits lower curve, through a slot in the top of the carriage, strikes uponthe flange of the cartridge 0 and keeps it in its proper position untilit passes into the bore of the arm.

The arm having been loaded and ready for discharging, as abovedescribed,it is now discharged by throwing the point of the hammer H,Fig. 1 upon the cartridge, in the usual manner of exploding fixedammunition. At the moment of the hammer H reaching the cartridge 0 theportion of the tumbler above G,Fig.1,has been forced by the mainspringunder the point of the projection c of the locking-piece P, therebyinsuring the certainty that the lock P is in such position thatthecharge shall not be blown backward. The arm having been loaded anddischarged,

as above described, the next operation is to divest the piece of theempty shell and recharge the same. The hammer H is elevated to itsupright position. (Shown in Fig. 4.) When the hammer descended toperform the office of exploding the cartridge 0, as seen in Fig. 1, thekey 0 was thrown up, and by its spring f looked onto the upper side ofthe piece P, and now, .by elevating the hammer to its position as seenin Fig. 4, Pis drawn down and the charging-carriage freed,so that bydepressing the lever R the'carriage 0 may slide backward over the uppersurface of P, the flange of the cartridge'O being in the groove 1, Figs.

1 and 4, made crosswise of the charging-carriage and fitted to receivethe same. When the depression of lever B commences it pulls the carriageO backward, at first nearly parallel with the bore of the piece, andwith itself takes the shell of the exploded cartridge O,and whenreaching a point opposite the center of the side spring D, Figs. 2 and4, this spring descends and throws the shell out of the arm sidewisethrough the opening A in the side plate, Fig. 5. The lever B having nowreached the position shown in Fig. 4, the

charging-carriage O has slipped the key 0.

from P, and is now in its proper position for reloading, when, by theaction of the spiral spring S, another cartridge, 0, is forced into thecarriage 0, ready to be carried thereby into place, as above described.

It is evident that various modifications of form and proportion of partsmay be made without departing from the principles of my inventionas Dmaybe made a hinged lever,

with a spring, and other parts more or less In testimony whereof I havehereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT BALL. Witnesses:

A. L. BURBANK, J O. HAMMOND.

